1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to safety devices. Specifically, and not by way of limitation, the present invention relates to an illuminated cautionary handheld traffic sign.
2. Description of the Related Art
Across the nation, there are countless schools manned by individuals whose sole task is the safe passage of children across a street crossing in the vicinity of schools. There have been various laws enacted to ensure the safety of these children. For example, a stringent reduced speed limit is strictly enforced around school zones. Additionally, as stated above, most busy crosswalks are manned by an adult with a stop sign. When children cross a crosswalk, the adult carrying the sign walks out into the center of the street with the raised sign. However, because of the very nature of children, there are still many accidents involving vehicles hitting children around crosswalk areas. Oftentimes, the children are at fault. However, it is incumbent upon the drivers to exercise extreme caution around these crosswalks. However, for various reasons, at times drivers are unaware of the crosswalks. Even with adults carrying stop signs raised high above their heads, drivers still run the crosswalks. Additionally, at some times during the year and during inclement weather, children travel to and from school in the dark. Thus, a stop sign having no illumination is often not sufficient to alert drivers. A device is needed which provides enhanced illumination to alert the driver to even a greater degree than is present in existing signs.
Handheld traffic signs are also used in other circumstances. During road construction, it is common for a worker to hold a sign to warn of upcoming road construction. The construction often necessitates a reduced speed by vehicles. Rather than holding the signs for a few minutes in the morning and afternoon, the workers often have to hold the signs for several hours. Again, drivers sometimes miss the warning provided by these signs which are not illuminated.
Although there are no known prior art teachings of a solution to the aforementioned deficiency and shortcoming such as that disclosed herein, prior art references that discuss subject matter that bears some relation to matters discussed herein are U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0003523 to Spencer (Spencer), U.S. Pat. No. 6,204,777 to Lyons (Lyons), and U.S. Pat. No. 6,796,062 to deKoevend (deKoevend).
Spencer discloses a hand-held signaling device having an illuminated display capable of selectively displaying illuminated indicia including words such as “stop” and “go.” Spencer does not teach or suggest a device which is easy to carry for a long period of time. Spencer does not disclose an elongated handle or pole. Additionally, Spencer does not teach or suggest a lighting scheme to catch the attention of a driver. Spencer is merely a handheld programmable textual sign.
Lyons discloses a sign having an LED array attached to a pole with a battery mounted on a bottom end of the pole. Although Lyons discloses the use of an LED array, the lighting scheme disclosed in Lyons does not provide sufficient attention to drivers. Lyons does not teach or suggest perimeter light to accentuate the perimeter and outer edges of the background of the sign. Additionally, because of the location of the battery, the pole may not be separated from the sign, thereby making it extremely difficult to transport in small areas, such as trunks of automobiles.
deKoevend discloses a traffic sign having an elongated pole. The sign is biased to automatically rotate about the pole. However, deKoevend does not teach or suggest a LED lighting array which provides a lighting scheme to attract the attention of drivers.
None of the references provides a sufficiently effective lighting scheme to attract the attention of drivers in either day or night. Additionally, none of the references provides a sufficiently transportable handheld sign with various lengths of the pole. Thus, it would be a distinct advantage to have a fully transportable handheld sign which provides a lighting scheme which more effectively provides warning to drivers of upcoming hazards or cautionary zones. It is an object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus.